The recent news that a London employee of the Bank of New York Mellon was made ill by being overworked raises the question of whether employers are continuing to miss the correlation between staff well-being and business performance.

James Lazarus, former senior executive at Mellon, claims that the bank failed in its duty of care after he warned that 'ridiculous' workloads were affecting his job performance, a situation which eventually led to Lazarus taking two extended periods of sick leave for stress and depression. Cases like this illustrate that managers are still not recognising what they stand to lose in terms of talented employees and expensive lawsuits by allowing a long-hours culture to thrive. As businesses desperately work towards recovery, they must make more effort to address, and resolve, staff concerns about workloads and wellbeing.

Like many businesses, the Bank of New York Mellon has made staff cuts in recent months in order to stay afloat during the recession. Although redundancies are sometimes unavoidable, they have left many employees battling with increased workloads in an attempt to pick up the slack. But, before cost-cutting measures are put in place, are managers really considering how their workforce will cope? To prevent over-stretching employees with work, new processes should be implemented to reflect changes to team structures. At times like this, managers must clearly map out how jobs will get done when there are fewer people around.

It's not just mental wellbeing that employers need to consider when it comes to working hours. Excessive workloads and associated stress can, of course, also significantly affect employees' physical health. Recent research published in the European Heart Journal confirms this; the risk of heart disease and heart attacks are increased in those who work three hours or more on top of a normal seven-hour day.

If employers need a financial incentive to develop smarter processes to avoid putting pressure on their workforces to deliver more for less, they should bear in mind that presenteeism — underperforming at work due to ill-health or stress — costs the economy £15bn each year, almost double the cost of absenteeism. This fact alone should encourage employers to do more to manage increased workloads, keeping morale and staff productivity levels up.

Lazarus attempted to discuss the 'unbearably hard' levels of work, but his pleas were ignored by his employers and the situation remained the same. Now, after filing for a £1m lawsuit, he blames his long-suffering depression and anxiety for making him unfit for employment at the position of seniority he once enjoyed. Who can afford a £1m lawsuit, the loss of a previously highly-rated employee and negative publicity in this day and age if they don't absolutely have to?

Yes, managers are currently under a great deal of pressure to restore their organisations back to pre-recession health, but there are no excuses for pushing employees so hard that the health of the individual is sacrificed for the health of the business. Work should be a place where people are built up, not broken down.